Win8 the bane of my life.

[iGas]

I have been trying to live with Windows 8 since I purchased a new computer in January, and it has been a steep learning curve. Everything take more clicks to achieve, and it doesn't include DVD player support, and upgrade to Window 8 Pro so that I can install Windows Media Center is quite a bit more than I can buy Windows 7 Ultimate for (VLC and Real Player doesn't play region-0 instructional DVD that I have, but it will play on Windows 7 Media Center).

My main OS is Mint Linux, and Linux is the work horse that I have been using exclusively since after Win2000, and Windows is purely for Lightroom. I would gladly purchase LR again if Adobe port it over to Linux (so far every alternative equivalent to LR in Linux has been buggy and lack some of the more refined tools that available in LR).

End rant.

 

[jjsbasmt]

Hear You! I've never tried the Linux stuff, but have been using Win 8 since it became available for testing, and have now moved onto the 8.1 Preview X64 and am really falling in love with Win 8. You can see my main OS in my system specs, but I'm really enjoying the performance of Win 8.1 Preview and do think that on my next build (this Fall) will not look back any longer. Been using Windows for 20 years and building all my desktops. Say I was to try a Linux OS, do you have any recommendations for an old guy (60's) that would be a easy start?

 

[Maximilian]

Yeah windows 8 sucks, welcome to the club. Been in it since January as well and its only been tolerable because of start8.

 

[iGas]

Hear You! I've never tried the Linux stuff, but have been using Win 8 since it became available for testing, and have now moved onto the 8.1 Preview X64 and am really falling in love with Win 8. You can see my main OS in my system specs, but I'm really enjoying the performance of Win 8.1 Preview and do think that on my next build (this Fall) will not look back any longer. Been using Windows for 20 years and building all my desktops. Say I was to try a Linux OS, do you have any recommendations for an old guy (60's) that would be a easy start?

Mint Linux is a good start. The desktop is similar to Windows, it include the majority of media and application package for a home desktop/media center, and the majority of the apps is a couple of clicks away.

 

[lxskllr]

Mint Linux is a good start. The desktop is similar to Windows, it include the majority of media and application package for a home desktop/media center, and the majority of the apps is a couple of clicks away.

To add to this, it isn't all sun and roses. You have to be willing to learn new things, and deal with the occasional problem. It's not hard, just different. IOW, you're aren't merely running Windows with a different gui. It's a different O/S, with different ways of doing things, and it has a minority share of the market. That means it may be more work for you, but the payoff is the freedom to do as you wish.

I've been running GNU/Linux since 2008, and exclusively since 2009, and have had few problems. I'm technically inclined, and willing to search out solutions to problems, but I'm not especially adept at computers. I'm just willing to look for solutions rather than throw up my arms in defeat.

 

[jjsbasmt]

Thanks iGas and lsxkllr for the advice.

 

[escrow4]

Not buying it. A demented gerbil could figure out Win 8's UI - I run 8 on my desktop, gaming box, laptop, and I bought a Windows 8 phone. Zero problems, 100% productivity. I use Linux on my server, but its a joke on the desktop - I recently tried the latest Ubuntu LTS . . . . which didn't support an Atheros NIC. You had to download and modprobe the alx driver; I felt like I was in 1995 all over again. Then it wouldn't mount the NTFS HDD's I had due to Win 8's hybrid shutdown (it wasn't *clean*).

I gave up. There is a reason Linux hasn't gotten anywhere in the desktop and at the current rate it won't. With 8, out of the box, everything works, just like that. I did use Debian 6 previously for a few months (on old ass hardware naturally) but I'm not bothering anymore. Win 8 is seamless, only real problem is the wonky built in USB 3 driver (hopefully 8.1 will fix it).

EDIT: OP, use DVD Fab to rip those DVD's to a 1 to 1 .iso and use VLC to play said ISO's.

 

[lxskllr]

Then it wouldn't mount the NTFS HDD's I had due to Win 8's hybrid shutdown (it wasn't *clean*).

So you expect Ubuntu to mount a drive that's unsafe to mount, and trash all the data?! That's the kind of crap Windows pulls. It's a good thing there's sane O/Ss out there.

 

[Maximilian]

Not buying it. A demented gerbil could figure out Win 8's UI - I run 8 on my desktop, gaming box, laptop, and I bought a Windows 8 phone. Zero problems, 100% productivity. I use Linux on my server, but its a joke on the desktop - I recently tried the latest Ubuntu LTS . . . . which didn't support an Atheros NIC. You had to download and modprobe the alx driver; I felt like I was in 1995 all over again. Then it wouldn't mount the NTFS HDD's I had due to Win 8's hybrid shutdown (it wasn't *clean*).

I gave up. There is a reason Linux hasn't gotten anywhere in the desktop and at the current rate it won't. With 8, out of the box, everything works, just like that. I did use Debian 6 previously for a few months (on old ass hardware naturally) but I'm not bothering anymore. Win 8 is seamless, only real problem is the wonky built in USB 3 driver (hopefully 8.1 will fix it).

EDIT: OP, use DVD Fab to rip those DVD's to a 1 to 1 .iso and use VLC to play said ISO's.

Do people laugh at you when you tell them this? Srs

 

[escrow4]

So you expect Ubuntu to mount a drive that's unsafe to mount, and trash all the data?! That's the kind of crap Windows pulls. It's a good thing there's sane O/Ss out there.

Any Windows OS can mount it *unclean* except Linux. Point?

 

[escrow4]

Do people laugh at you when you tell them this? Srs

Then tell me, why is Linux at barely 2% on the desktop - and I'm being generous - why hasn't it replaced Windows or Mac OS X? Why is everything Windows centric? If Linux was so fabulous why don't more people bother to use it? Again, Linux on the desktop isn't going anywhere.

 

[lxskllr]

Any Windows OS can mount it *unclean* except Linux. Point?

I guess the point is Windows doesn't care about your data, eh?

Then tell me, why is Linux at barely 2% on the desktop - and I'm being generous - why hasn't it replaced Windows or Mac OS X? Why is everything Windows centric? If Linux was so fabulous why don't more people bother to use it? Again, Linux on the desktop isn't going anywhere.

So what? Mass acceptance isn't necessarily a sign of technical superiority. Linux is the most used kernel in the world, and if it's only on a couple percent of desktops, who cares? Even at that low a percentage, there's still millions of people using it on the desktop. Microsoft can only dream about being as successful as Linux.

 

[escrow4]

I guess the point is Windows doesn't care about your data, eh?



So what? Mass acceptance isn't necessarily a sign of technical superiority. Linux is the most used kernel in the world, and if it's only on a couple percent of desktops, who cares? Even at that low a percentage, there's still millions of people using it on the desktop. Microsoft can only dream about being as successful as Linux.

With billions using Microsoft OS's that actually earns Microsoft billions. By that metric, far from successful.

 

[blurredvision]

So what? Mass acceptance isn't necessarily a sign of technical superiority. Linux is the most used kernel in the world, and if it's only on a couple percent of desktops, who cares? Even at that low a percentage, there's still millions of people using it on the desktop. Microsoft can only dream about being as successful as Linux.

Da fuq?

 

[Ben90]

..

 

[Mem]

Do people laugh at you when you tell them this? Srs

As usual some people make a mountain out of a mole hill .
Win8 is simple to use and nothing hard or annoying IMHO,even if you think there is you have plenty of other choices out there and nobody is forcing you to use it or any OS you can name,I do wonder if some people even bother to do research on an OS before buying or using it.

I use Linux Mint as well, been using it since I replaced XP over 5 years ago,infact I also use Zorin and Ubuntu on my different distros Linux wise,they all have some learning curve because some things are different to Windows,yes I like Linux.

I will say just because somebody does not like an OS makes it bad ,plenty of people do like Win8 including me,so try to respect other peoples opinions out there rather then bash or put their point of view down.


With respect I do wonder how some of you guys would of handled DOS 6.22 in the old days because Win8 is childs play however which way you look at it,we have it way too easy nowadays.

I look forward to Win9 ,guess reserve my front seat now.

 

[Maximilian]

Then tell me, why is Linux at barely 2% on the desktop - and I'm being generous - why hasn't it replaced Windows or Mac OS X? Why is everything Windows centric? If Linux was so fabulous why don't more people bother to use it? Again, Linux on the desktop isn't going anywhere.

Wat? I never even mentioned linux lol... I bolded windows phone 8 for a reason.

 

[sm625]

With respect I do wonder how some of you guys would of handled DOS 6.22 in the old days because Win8 is childs play however which way you look at it,we have it way too easy nowadays.

Yeah but if you took 10 identical computers and installed DOS 6.22 on them all, they would all boot up in X.X seconds, and all run exactly the same way.

If you build 10 identical computers and install Win 8 on all of them, from scratch, using the exact same settings, they will all behave differently. They will all boot differently. The event logs will show different errors. The boot times will all be different. And at least one of them will have some sort of fatal error when you try to install some common piece of software like Adobe Acrobat X. Procmon will show completely different sections of the registry being accessed. Different drivers will be loaded. Every possible stupid thing you can imagine...

 

[Mem]

Yeah but if you took 10 identical computers and installed DOS 6.22 on them all, they would all boot up in X.X seconds, and all run exactly the same way.

If you build 10 identical computers and install Win 8 on all of them, from scratch, using the exact same settings, they will all behave differently. They will all boot differently. The event logs will show different errors. The boot times will all be different. And at least one of them will have some sort of fatal error when you try to install some common piece of software like Adobe Acrobat X. Procmon will show completely different sections of the registry being accessed. Different drivers will be loaded. Every possible stupid thing you can imagine...

So if you build 10 PCs on Vista/Win7 or any Windows they will behave the same..I don't think so,in theory yes but we all know you can install an OS and get no issues,then do it again later and have issues pop up,has happened to me on XP and other operating systems with no hardware changes and using same OS.

DOS 6.22 was simple input commands but tricky with IRQs and arranging memory etc...Windows made things easy however,but even simple Windows Update can cause issues,my brother had failed Windows update on Win7 twice this year(where Windows would not update at all after installing the updates) and spent hours fixing it, where I've had none on Win8 since release last October,again its horses for courses since anyone or any OS can have issues,oh and my Win8 boots faster then ex Win 7 plus running sweet just like my Linux distros .

I can also mention user error as well,don't forget they can cause issues with PCs as well,I know a few that have done dumb things and killed the OS in question.

 

[infoiltrator]

Windows 8, if it plays nice with your software, and or hardware, is fine.
Learning new procedures and vocabulary are doable, more or less.
Unfortunately I do not find W8 instinctive or intuitive follow up to W7.
Maybe just me.
What is seriously annoying is W8 is supposed to be "great" and the "go to" operating system.

Basically W XP is EOL and people want to extend old systems and hardware with W8.
I am not finding consistent or reasonable results, or W8 particularly easy to explain to someone unfamiliar with it. Possibly because I do not see any advantages (for me) over W7.
XP>Vista>W7 did not bother me. W8 is something else.

That Said:
W8, for the majority of people, most of the time is fine.

 

[Ketchup]

Everything take more clicks to achieve...

I had to comment on this, and ask why? I thought the point of a new OS was to make things better and easier, not more chicks to do the same thing.

I am not saying I disagree. But for a new OS with a steep learning curve, I would have expected Microsoft the achieve the opposite in this category.

 

[Mem]

I had to comment on this, and ask why? I thought the point of a new OS was to make things better and easier, not more chicks to do the same thing.

I am not saying I disagree. But for a new OS with a steep learning curve, I would have expected Microsoft the achieve the opposite in this category.

In my case on Win8 I've everything within 1 or 2 clicks max,I took time to customise Win8 just like I did on XP,Vista,Win7 etc...

Even Metro is useful if some users get past the hate factor,anyway Win8 is pretty good with regards to customisation once you take the time to learn what you can do in both Metro and old desktop UI.

In the end it does pay off,but then you can say that about any OS once you take time to learn what you can do etc..

 

[oynaz]

Da fuq?

There are far more Linux installs than Windows installs. Remember, many TVs, routers, servers, phones etc. run Linux (Android is Linux based, for instance).

 

[mikeymikec]

There are far more Linux installs than Windows installs. Remember, many TVs, routers, servers, phones etc. run Linux (Android is Linux based, for instance).

Shall we keep to the context of this discussion? Otherwise I'll have to complain about how poor the user interface, multi-tasking, application support, gaming capabilities and storage capacities are of my router compared to a Windows 8 PC. Context is important.

 

[lxskllr]

Shall we keep to the context of this discussion? Otherwise I'll have to complain about how poor the user interface, multi-tasking, application support, gaming capabilities and storage capacities are of my router compared to a Windows 8 PC. Context is important.

That's in context of my comment, which organically grew from the comments of others. It's relevant, and on topic.